Was It My Fault?
by Tea-Cub
Summary: Guilt isn't easy to live with, as Mikey is about to find out...


Was it My Fault?  
  
Author's Note  
  
I don't own Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles, whether it be the cartoon series, the movies, or the Next Mutation. I have decided to set this one without Venus, as I was informed that the Next Mutation is not popular around here, and to be honest, as much as I like Venus, it feels a little freaky writing her in. But beware - she'll be back! Mwhahahahaha!  
  
* * *  
  
Was it My Fault?  
  
Michelangelo groaned as the words 'Game Over' appeared on the screen. He made a mental note never to try and take the Pink Dragon when you had Toad as your character on Super Mario Bros. 2 - Mario Madness.  
  
Getting up from his seat, Mikey turned off the computer and stretched. He'd been sitting here for four hours, trying out game after game. He was bored. Donatello was playing around in his laboratory, Leonardo was training with Raph (good luck to him; it was no child's play) and Splinter was meditating.  
  
Sliding the train door back, Michelangelo stepped out onto the platform, and surveyed his surroundings. A large concrete platform, at least a quarter of a mile long. An old freight train, long forgotten. Steps leading up to below the sewer lid that protected them from the outside world. It would not be much to a human, but to the turtles, it was home.  
  
Michelangelo suddenly spotted the old jukebox that played 60's, 70's and 80's hits. He and his brothers preferred old hits, rather than today's modern music.  
  
Turning the jukebox on, Abba's 'Super Trouper' blasted out. Michelangelo sat down to enjoy the music, but almost immediately, yells came from inside. Mikey could make out, "Turn it off, you moron!" "Michelangelo, I just dropped my acid all over the floor!" and "My son, kindly turn that music down".  
  
Sighing, Michelangelo turned the jukebox completely off. Donatello's face appeared at a window.  
  
"Mikey, you don't have to turn it off altogether".  
  
"Never mind", grunted Mikey, "I'm going for a walk".  
  
"But it's ten pm!"  
  
"I don't care". Michelangelo grabbed his coat, and took off for the tunnels.  
  
"Mikey." called Donny, but his brother had already slammed the door. Donny could make out the sounds of the sewage waters splashing as feet were dragged through it.  
  
Sighing, Donny put his head back in and slammed the window.  
  
* * *  
  
Mikey wandered through the streets of his home city. The place where he had been born; where they had all been born. The place where they had been mutated. The place in which they fought all their battles.  
  
Nothing could beat New York. Michelangelo always felt so comfortable here. The only problem was that they hardly ever got to go out now. When April had been around, that had always been a reason to go out into the air, to just be a part of the city for a few hours. But April was in California with Casey. Keno and Danny were both away, Keno in Japan, and Danny was doing something with his father. And the Prof, well, they didn't see much of him.  
  
Suddenly, Michelangelo thought he heard screaming. He listened. Nothing.  
  
No, wait, there it was again. And it was coming from New York Central Park!  
  
Michelangelo ran down the block. He saw the gates leading in and dashed though them, his eyes desperately searching for anything out of the ordinary.  
  
There it was - the piercing screams again. Mikey ran towards the sound. Finally, he came to a small clearing where he saw a woman lying on the ground with three thugs attacking her.  
  
The woman's face was bloodied and bruised. Not wasting another second, Mikey ran towards the trio of alarmed thugs and jumped up in the air, landing with a kick. He got all three of the thugs. The trio shouted in pain as his hard left foot hit them.  
  
Mikey took the moment to rip off his trench coat and put it over the woman. On closer inspection, he saw with alarm that she had a round tummy, and realised that she must be pregnant.  
  
"I'll take care of them", he whispered reassuringly to the woman, "Don't worry, you'll be OK".  
  
The woman was barely conscious and didn't seem alarmed. She managed to mumble a small "Thankyou".  
  
Michelangelo turned his full attention to the thugs. He was furious at them for attacking a woman. Cowards! Michelangelo did a back flip, appearing in front of one of the boys and kicking him. The boy rolled over groaning.  
  
"One down, two to go", Mikey whispered to himself. He stepped backwards - crushing one of the others against a tree with his shell. The guy had hoped to alarm him and had not reckoned on him stepping backwards directly at him.  
  
"Oh, so sorry", said Mikey sarcastically as he turned round to see the boy on the floor. He quickly threw him at the other unconscious thug, leaving them together in a pile.  
  
The last thug proved to be trickier. No matter what move Michelangelo made, he always seemed to be ready. Mikey couldn't outsmart him. Suddenly, he had an idea.  
  
"Listen!" he barked at the thug, "Why are you out here in the first place?"  
  
The thug came over and shrugged.  
  
"I dunno. Situation's bad at home. What else can I do?"  
  
Mikey focused on where the boy was standing.  
  
"You can stop taking it out on this whole city!" he cried.  
  
"Who else can I take it out on?"  
  
"Don't ask me", shrugged Mikey, "I'm no miracle worker. But here's some advice", he added.  
  
"What advice?" asked the boy in interest.  
  
Mikey quickly raised his knee and got the boy in the stomach. He groaned, and collapsed.  
  
"Get your act together in jail!" barked Michelangelo at the unconscious form.  
  
'Geez', he thought, 'I sound just like Raph'.  
  
After tying the thugs up with a spare rope on his belt, Michelangelo went to check on the woman.  
  
And he got the shock of his life.  
  
The woman was lying still, eyes closed. Mikey took up her wrist, and expected a pulse.  
  
Nothing.  
  
And although Michelangelo didn't want to believe it, he knew the woman was dead. As was the baby inside her.  
  
Slowly, Mikey stood up and went to the nearest phone booth to call the police. Then he stayed with the woman's body until he heard the sirens.  
  
With a heavy heart, Michelangelo got up and made his way back to the sewer. And by the time he got there, he was in tears.  
  
* * *  
  
Leonardo was reading a magazine when Mikey got back. He heard his brother on the ladder and went to greet him, hoping he'd cooled down. Mikey hardly ever got angry and Leonardo had prayed that the outside air would do him good.  
  
But when Michelangelo came down the ladder, it was a tear-stained face his brother saw, not the usual cheerfulness and perkiness that made Mikey the turtle he was.  
  
"Mikey!" cried Leonardo, concerned, "Are you OK?"  
  
Mikey turned to face him. Leo took a step back. He could see fury building up in Michelangelo's eyes, his body shaking, and wondered what had happened up there in the city for him to be like this.  
  
"It's not fair!" shrieked Mikey suddenly.  
  
"Michelangelo - what's happened?"  
  
"I couldn't do anything - I'll kill them - they'll never get away with it-"  
  
"Mikey-"  
  
"- If they ever do that again, they'll wish that they were never born-"  
  
"Mikey-"  
  
"- And I'll do it one-handed! Those - those-"  
  
"MIKEY!" yelled Leonardo, grabbing his brother, "What's wrong?!"  
  
The fury drained, and Mikey suddenly found himself looking up at his brother. And he collapsed in his arms, sobbing. Leo helped him inside and got him onto the couch.  
  
"What's going on?" Donatello looked round the door. Seeing Mikey like he was, he frowned and came in.  
  
The door at the other end opened and both Splinter and Raphael came in.  
  
"Woah! Someone havin' a party, and they didn't invite me?" said Raph.  
  
"Not now, Raphael. Something's happened to Mikey", growled Leonardo - the first sign of a fight.  
  
"Erm, what happened?" asked Donatello quickly.  
  
Struggling with words, Mikey told them what had occurred in the park. He started crying quietly again.  
  
"What cowards", muttered Splinter in anger, "Choosing to hurt a woman".  
  
"She was pregnant, Master", whispered Mikey, "She was pregnant, and I couldn't do anything for her".  
  
"My son", soothed Splinter, "You tried, and-"  
  
Suddenly, Mikey got up again.  
  
"NO, I DIDN'T TRY!" he screamed, "NOT ONLY DID SHE DIE, BUT SO DID HER BABY! AND I'VE NEVER FELT SO ASHAMED IN ALL MY LIFE!"  
  
Then with that, he took off to his room, leaving his family in shock.  
  
* * *  
  
Later on, Splinter knocked on the door of Michelangelo's room.  
  
"My son, may I come in?"  
  
"If you want", came the short reply.  
  
Splinter entered the room and found it in total darkness. He turned on the switch. Mikey, lying on the bed, groaned and tried to shield himself from the light. Splinter quickly turned it off again. Then he went outside and returned with a candle and a box of matches.  
  
"Please sit up", he requested. Michelangelo sighed, and sat up straight on the bed.  
  
Splinter put the candle on the desk and took out a match. He struck it, and then the candle was set alight.  
  
"Why are you even in here?" asked Mikey, "You know what happened. Everyone knows. Everyone knows I damn well failed".  
  
"Look at me, Michelangelo", said Splinter. The orange bandanna turtle gazed up. His eyes were red. Suddenly, he looked - helpless. He looked younger. He looked like the little turtle whom had taken ages to learn his ninja moves. The turtle that had always run to Leonardo for comfort whenever Raphael teased him. The turtle, who, from the age of six, had started to take an interest in surfing, and started talking like the guys on TV, no matter how many times Splinter and the others had told him to stop.  
  
"Michelangelo", said Splinter, "What have I taught you throughout these last sixteen years?"  
  
"You taught me how to be a ninja", said Mikey shortly.  
  
"How?"  
  
"You demonstrated the moves, and we all copied you. You talked us through the exercises".  
  
"And what else?"  
  
Mikey looked back in surprise.  
  
"That's all, isn't it?"  
  
"No", answered Splinter, "Look inside your heart, my son. Look deep".  
  
Mikey closed his eyes for a moment. Then he opened them again, and his eyes brimmed with fresh tears.  
  
"I was afraid", he answered, "I was so scared when I had to copy your movements. I thought I would hurt myself. But you told me -"  
  
"Yes?" prompted Splinter gently.  
  
"You told me to never give up", said Mikey.  
  
"And you didn't, did you?"  
  
"It doesn't make any difference", answered Mikey, turning away, "I killed a woman. I - "  
  
His shoulders shook, and his voice cracked.  
  
"I killed a woman".  
  
"No", Splinter said, "Look back. What did you see?"  
  
"I heard the screams".  
  
"And?"  
  
"I saw the -" Mikey's eyes became wide with realisation.  
  
"I saw the boys beating her up".  
  
"So who killed her?"  
  
"The boys did".  
  
"Exactly".  
  
The look of relief showed all too clear on Splinter's face.  
  
"I will leave you", he said, "You must rest".  
  
"Sensei."  
  
Mikey grabbed Splinter's arm.  
  
"Yes, my son?" asked Splinter, turning back to him.  
  
"Just tell me - was it my fault?"  
  
Splinter smiled.  
  
"No", he said, "No, it was not your fault, Michelangelo. And it never will be".  
  
The End. 


End file.
